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Concessionary Bus Travel Bill [HL]

My Lords, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this small yet significant Bill and I am happy to say that we support its aims and objectives. However, we have a number of reservations, not least regarding its funding and implementation, as several noble Lords have said. Therefore, many of my comments will echo those made by others. Like them, I have a number of questions relating to how the Bill will operate in practice. However, I hope and trust that these concerns can be swiftly sorted out so that we can all support the Bill as it makes its way through the House. As the Bill is to be effectively run and administered by local government—I, too, have strong reservations about the Secretary of State running it—I declare an interest as leader of Essex County Council. We all recognise that the ability to travel is particularly important for pensioners and disabled people as it gives them the opportunity to engage with local communities, combating isolation and helping them to lead full, independent lives. We applaud the efforts that the Government have taken over recent years in this regard. I do not often applaud the Government but I do on this occasion. As the Minister mentioned, the Bill enhances the statutory minimum travel concession of free off-peak travel for pensioners and disabled people on local buses anywhere in England. Local authorities wish to work with the Government to ensure the successful delivery of this scheme by 2008. However, to do so requires sound legislative, funding, reimbursement and administrative arrangements, some of which are as yet not clear, as others have said. This is a challenging project to deliver within the time scale set by the Government, as several noble Lords have said. Experience in Essex, where some time ago a countywide scheme similar to the one before us today was introduced, suggests that funding by the Government was insufficient for some district councils. In the end the county had to help out. This in turn put at risk sensible arrangements for those who should enjoy the benefits of the scheme. Other district councils had to provide extra resources from their own finances. Finance is a big issue, as the noble Lord, Lord Smith of Leigh, pointed out. While local authorities have an important role to play, this is a national scheme therefore local authorities must be given sufficient funding to make it work. The mechanism by which this will happen has not yet been determined. Several versions have been mentioned today. I share doubts about administering the scheme through revenue support. Most counties in England are at floor level, as are many London boroughs. As to putting money into the revenue support grant, we do not get it. How will we put extra money in to fund such a scheme? The funding of the schemes needs to be carefully thought through. Changing the tier at which the scheme operates will have significant effects on how the funding will be sorted out. Whatever arrangement is settled on, the key principle must be—and we must watch this as the legislation goes through—that local councils will be fully funded for the new scheme and will suffer no financial risk. Indeed, authorities already have full flexibility to determine whether a scheme operates at district or county level, so I cannot understand the Minister’s proposal on that; it could be left as it is. I repeat that I would not want to see the Secretary of State having the power, even if it was a reserved one, to run a national scheme. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Smith of Leigh, that we have just had a White Paper on devolution, and suggesting a national bus scheme seems to be going about it in totally the wrong way. Bus operators must also be adequately reimbursed to ensure that the commercial network remains at its present level and does not put additional burdens on local authorities again. Therefore, perhaps the Minister could clarify today—and if not today, in Committee—how the funding might become available and on what basis. It would be useful if the Minister commented on that today; otherwise, we will have to pursue it in considerable depth in Committee. Local authorities and several noble Lords today have expressed concerns about whether the scheme can be up and running by the date intended by the Government. In particular, there seems to be doubt about whether the new passes required for the national concession could be in place by 2008. Perhaps the Minister could update us on how the ““re-stickering”” of existing passes, together with the implementation of a cost-effective procurement system, could be completed by that time. I wish to probe the Minister on other issues that the Bill flags up, some of which have been raised by noble Lords today. What consideration have the Government given to extending the scheme to other transport modes? In some areas, concessionary fare passes can be used in taxis, community transport and other door-to-door transport modes. In Scotland, as we have heard, many ferry journeys are covered bythe concessionary fares scheme. In urban areas, concessions are often also available on local rail and light-rail services. That is important where train and tram services are used as an alternative to the bus for local journeys. It would seem sensible to at least look at the possibility of extending the concession to other types of transport. I remind the Minister that, while we have heard quite a lot about urban areas today, in some rural areas there is not even a bus service to talk about. We would like to see what will come out of this for rural areas. Does the Minister agree that the restriction of concessionary travel during morning peak periods could have a detrimental effect on disabled people travelling to work or looking for work? Here, I support much of what the noble Lord, Lord Low, said. Employment for blind people is often in lower-paid jobs, as he said; therefore, having a concessionary scheme during peak times would be very important to them. In addition to the effect on employment, restricting concessions to off-peak times affects disabled people travelling to an early medical appointment, appointments for benefits and other interviews, or education and leisure activities with an early start time. I hope the Government might reconsider that for disabled people, particularly the blind, as the noble Lord, Lord Low, stated. Why did the Government choose to operate the scheme on a basis excluding peak hours? Can the Minister tell us how much more the scheme would cost to operate if it were extended to cover that period? There also appears to be some concern, especially among groups campaigning on behalf of the disabled, regarding the definition of the term ““disabled”” as used in the Bill. Again, I support the noble Lord, Lord Low. Therefore, for the avoidance of doubt, would it not be better if an agreed definition were specified in the Bill and in guidance which includes all disabled people whose impairments affect their ability to use public transport, including those with mental health issues? I would welcome any clarity that the Minister could provide today. Putting Passengers First was published today by the Secretary of State. I have just seen it but I do not think that anyone has had a chance to scrutinise it. Perhaps the Minister could say whether that document has any effect on the Bill. In conclusion, I repeat that we on these Benches are happy to support the principle of this Bill, which brings greater freedom and independence to some of the most vulnerable in society. However, while we understand the significant legal, financial and administrative arrangements that have to be made, we remain concerned at the lack of a clear project plan for the delivery of the Bill’s objectives and, more importantly, the lack of a clear assurance on funding issues. As ever, we will try to clarify and seek answers to our questions in Committee.